


Talk Nerdy to Me

by Lesserknownhero



Series: Come Fly with Me (Modern Airport AUs) [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Anxiety, Fear of Flying, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Post-Serum Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 15:27:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7227985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lesserknownhero/pseuds/Lesserknownhero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky is on his first flight in years and absolutely HATES it. Luckily/Unluckily for him his seatmate is more than willing to be a distraction. In more ways than one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Talk Nerdy to Me

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [跟我說說那些書呆子的事](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7589950) by [abbabccd05](https://archiveofourown.org/users/abbabccd05/pseuds/abbabccd05)



It had to be a god damn plane. Bucky had driven down to DC for the face to face meeting with SHIELD, Red Room Security’s biggest client but Natasha his partner in the company had called him back to the office ahead of schedule.

  
Clint, one of their best agents had gotten hurt on his last assignment. It wasn’t all that surprising that Clint was injured again, the man had once tripped over his own untied shoelace and fallen out a two story window.

The problem was that Red Room operated with a small staff to start with which meant they couldn’t afford to have both Bucky and Clint away from headquarters. So Bucky had returned the rental car and purchased a plane ticket back to New York on the earliest flight he could.

  
It had been three years since he had last flown in a plane. Not since he was honorably discharged from the Army with a shiny new metal arm as a souvenir. He pushed the thoughts away not wanting to focus on the fear and anger of that day while strapped into a giant metal tube speeding through the air.

  
Bucky sat as still as he possibly could as if shifting his weight the tiniest bit would throw the whole plane out of whack. His neck hurt from his tense posture but he couldn’t move his hands from their death grips on the armrests to rub it.

He was sweating profusely. He could feel it running down his spine and collecting under his arms. He’d be embarrassed if he had any energy left to spare but his lungs were tight and his vision blurred as he struggled for air.

  
A steady clicking sound to his left caught his attention and that of his seat mate. The metal fingers of his left hand were drumming frantically against the hard plastic armrest. He forced them to still and sent what he hoped was an apologetic look to the man sitting on his right. The guy smiled and for a moment Bucky forgot all about how much he hated flying. The blonde was a stunner with a chiseled jaw and clear blue eyes that not even a nerdy pair of glasses could diminish.

  
“Hey man,” the blonde said, “Did you know that humans can see more shades of green than any other color?”

  
Bucky missed a few words due to the pounding of his adrenaline filled heart. He saw the guy’s lips moving but the words just rushed by like his head was underwater.

  
“What?” Bucky said a little too loudly.

  
The guy was smiling again and Bucky found himself noticing the way the skin crinkled around his eyes.

  
Cut that out. Bucky thought to himself desperately.

  
Bucky closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head to clear it. The handsome blonde was still looking at him when he opened his eyes again.

  
“I’m sorry,” Bucky said, “What did you say?”

  
“I apologize for disturbing you,” the guy said with a chuckle, “It just looked like you could use a distraction. I’m Steve. Steve Rogers,” the blonde said holding out his hand.

  
Bucky hesitated for a moment torn between offering his metal hand or the flesh and bone one. Eventually he offered the prosthetic. The man had already seen a little of the thing and Bucky didn’t think he could handle the embarrassment of Steve touching the sweaty mess that was his other hand.

  
“Bucky Barnes.”

  
They shook hands briefly and Bucky didn’t miss the way Steve’s eyes flared at the feel of the metal. Bucky let go first and closed his eyes, trying to block out the sensation of the fine tremors and sways in the plane as it hurtled through the air.

Something nagged him, his mind kept trying to piece together Steve’s earlier comment about colors. Finally when he couldn’t stand it any more he opened his eyes again and looked at the other man.

  
“What the hell were you saying about green?” he asked.

  
“Oh!” Steve said turning from the window excitedly, “Humans can see more shades of green than any other color.”

  
“Weird.”

  
“ It helped early humans find edible plants and hunt for prey.”

  
Bucky nodded thinking that would be the end of the conversation but Steve kept talking.

  
“Is your name really Bucky?” he asked.

  
Bucky barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. It was a question he dealt with almost daily.

  
“You’d save yourself some trouble if you just used James.” Natasha often told him. She was probably right but Bucky was nothing if not stubborn.

  
“Yep,” he said, “Folks named me James Buchanan. Ten year old me wasn’t thrilled and I’ve been Bucky ever since.”

  
“Hmm.”

  
Steve dug through his carry on bag with a thoughtful look on his face. Finally he found what he was looking for, a book as thick as Bucky’s wrist. Steve turned it around and showed Bucky the front.  
The History of a Nation: Stories of America 1850-1900.

  
“There’s a whole chapter in here about your namesake,” Steve explains, “Kinda interesting.”

  
Bucky looks at the cover and frowns. It looks almost like a textbook with its navy blue cover and thick block lettering.

  
Maybe the guy is a student or a teacher. Bucky thinks to himself. Unhelpfully, the beginnings of Hot for Teacher by Van Halen start playing in his head and he groans. Steve thankfully misinterprets the sound saving Bucky from further embarrassment.

  
“A man named after our 15th president who’s not a fan of history? What a shame.” Steve said.

  
Bucky laughed at his dry, disappointed tone and Steve shot him another grin.

  
“History is okay I guess,” Bucky said, “ I just haven’t read much on it since I finished high school. Are you a professor or something?”

  
Steve turns the book around and glances at the cover. He holds it comfortably in his large hands. Bucky notices faint ink smudges on Steve’s long elegant fingers.

  
“No. I am graphic designer,” Steve says, “ My buddy Sam and I run our own firm up in Brooklyn. Learning about history is more of a hobby for me just something I like to do for fun.”

  
“You may have somehow got those backwards pal.”

  
“Mom, is that you?” Steve joked.

  
Bucky chuckled.

  
“Heard that more than once have you?” he asked.

  
“At least once a week during the four years it took me to get my degree.”

  
“She’s gotta be proud now though. Owning your own business is no small thing.”

  
Bucky would know, in the early days he and Natasha had struggled to find clients willing to take a shot on two young vets with no money and a lot of attitude. Somehow they had managed to keep the lights on and now business was growing almost faster than they could keep up with it.

  
“I like to think she would be, yeah,” Steve said, “She passed a few years ago.”

  
“Shit man, I am sorry.”

  
Bucky squeezed Steve’s shoulder with his flesh and bone hand.

  
“Thank you. I still miss her.”

  
Bucky takes his hand back and they both lapse into silence. Guilt at potentially upsetting Steve ate at Bucky and he wracked his brain for something to say to lighten the mood again. Luckily he was saved by the flight attendant who arrived to ask if they would like something to drink.

  
“Two bottles of water please.” Steve said speaking over Bucky’s polite refusal.

Cracking one lid, Steve took a long draw while handing the other bottle to Bucky. Touched by the man’s continued kindness Bucky uncaps the water and takes a swig.

  
“Thank you.” Bucky said softly.

  
Steve nods approvingly and reaches once again into the bag at his feet.

  
“Are you hungry?” he asked.

  
“What?”

  
Steve brought out two ziplock baggies.

  
“Peanut butter crackers or Gummy Bears?” he asked holding them up for Bucky to see.

Bucky stared at his seat mate who was smiling like a kid again. It was contagious and Bucky found himself grinning too.

  
“Seriously Rogers?” Bucky asked, “That’s what’s in your carry on? History books and soccer mom snacks?”

  
“Keep it up Jerk and I’ll change my mind about sharing with you.”

  
“Alright Punk, let me get some of those Gummy Bears.”

  
“That’s what I thought. One thing though, you gotta share.” Steve said as he opened the bag and set it on the tray table in front of them before popping some of the candy into his mouth.

  
“Thanks,” Bucky said, “And I’m sorry about weirding out on you earlier. Planes make me a little tense.”

  
“Yeah, I noticed,” Steve said squeezing Bucky’s hand with his own before abruptly changing the subject, “Did you know that a German guy named Hanz Riegel is said to have created Gummy Bears back in the 1920’s?”

  
“Why do you know that?”

  
“I know lots of things.” Steve said as he obnoxiously tossed the bears one at a time into the air and caught them in his mouth.

  
Bucky was not charmed by this nerdy hunk. He wasn’t.

  
“I bet you do but that’s not what I asked,” he said, “What I want to know is why do you know about the guy who created gummy bears?”

  
“It’s interesting.”

  
Bucky stared at the man skeptically and Steve smiled, displaying gobs of sticky candy still trapped in his teeth.

  
“Gross.” Bucky said giving him a shove.

  
“Fine,” Steve said after taking another swig of water, “ If you don’t like my choice of topics. You do some of the talking. Tell me about yourself. What do you do?”

  
Bucky considered him for a minute but he didn’t want to go back to discussing history or candy invention so he talked.

  
“I co-own a security firm. We consult and provide security for a variety of clients.”

  
Steve took a not so subtle look at Bucky’s body and the brunet found himself heating up at the perusal. He might be stuck behind a desk most days but Bucky took pride in staying sharp physically. It was nice to know that his efforts were being noticed.

  
“That’s impressive,” Steve said, “So do you have to travel a lot for these clients?”

  
“Not usually, no,” Bucky said popping a few Gummy Bears into his mouth, “This was a last minute thing.”

  
“Lucky for me then.” Steve said.

  
The implications of his comment seemed to hit them both at once. Steve blushed a delicious shade of pink and Bucky grinned. Before he could reply the pilot spoke over the PA system announcing their arrival to New York.

  
The moment broken Bucky cleaned up his area and prepared for landing. Steve sat beside him doing the same. It was the work of a few tense minutes to exit the plane once they had landed. Bucky passed the time trying to think of the best way to thank Steve for helping him keep his sanity during the flight. In the end he settled on the truth. It was easier than trying to play it cool.

  
“You saved my ass back there,” he said, “I don’t think I could’ve handled flying nearly as well without you there.”

  
That all american grin was back as Steve pushed his glasses back up his nose.

  
“Feel like returning the favor?” Steve asked, “I’ve gotta catch a cab back to Brooklyn and I am sure it would go a lot smoother if I didn’t have to do it alone.”

  
He was laying on the puppy dog eyes and school boy charm as thick as he could. Bucky couldn’t hold back his laugh.

  
“You’re such a punk you know that?”

  
“Yeah, yeah Jerk.” Steve said threading his arm through Bucky’s duffel and slinging it over his shoulder alongside his own, “You coming or what?”

  
Bucky picked up the pace and strode beside him as they made their way out of the airport and into the evening air. A yellow cab pulled up to the curb and the driver signaled for them to throw their luggage in the truck.

  
“Hey, did you know that-” Steve started.

  
Bucky cut him off with a kiss. Steve stood frozen for a moment and Bucky worried he had misread the situation but then strong arms pulled him in closer and the kiss deepened. Bucky pulled away first pleased to see the slightly hungry look on Steve’s face.

  
“Steve,” he said not unkindly, “shut up and get in the car.”

  
“Yeah, okay.”

  
Steve slid into the car and Bucky followed him. If they sat closer than was strictly necessary that was no one’s business but their own.

The moment the car pulled away from the curb Steve was off again sharing random facts about the architecture of the city as it passed by the window. It was a long ride back to Brooklyn but Bucky wouldn’t have had it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is just silly fluff. It is based off a prompt I came across on tumblr. The Prompt was : "I'm afraid of flying and you were incredibly helpful, tolerant and sweet about it au"  
> This fic goes a bit away from that original prompt but I like it so I thought I'd share.  
> There will be more of these Airport AUs coming, there was a whole list of prompts on the post I found and I am hoping to write them all. I was actually in the middle of writing a different fic in this series when the dialogue for this one popped into my head. Soon this fic had jumped in line and now it's first!
> 
> I own no one. All mistakes are mine. 
> 
> Comments and Kudos are much appreciated.  
> You can find me on tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/lesserknownhero


End file.
